Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Israel eased restrictions on
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip yesterday after last week’s
cease-fire with Hamas survived claims of breaches by both sides.

At the same time, Israeli security forces extended a wave
of arrests in the West Bank, detaining 83 Palestinians since the
accord went into effect late on Nov. 21, according to an army
spokeswoman speaking yesterday on condition of anonymity in line
with military rules. Hamas said more than twice that many have
been arrested.

The truce was tested last week when Hamas, which controls
Gaza, said one Palestinian was killed and at least 19 injured
after Israeli border guards opened fire. The group, considered a
terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European
Union, said it has complained to Egypt about the incident and
won’t take further action. Israeli army spokeswoman Avital
Leibovich said in a message on Twitter Nov. 23 that groups of
Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip had hurled rocks and
tried to damage the security fence.

Palestinian fishermen are being allowed to fish six miles
(9.7 kilometers) from the Gaza coast, as opposed to three miles
previously, Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas official, said by
telephone. It’s the first time in three years that Israel has
allowed fishing that far from the shore, Israel Army Radio
reported.

An Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev, declined to
comment on the increase. Restrictions “are being dealt with in
direct communications with the Egyptian government,” he said
yesterday. Egypt, along with the U.S., brokered the deal to halt
eight days of air and missile strikes that left more than 160
Palestinians and six Israelis dead.

Hamas MPs

Among the people arrested in the West Bank are suspects in
a bomb attack on a Tel Aviv bus on Nov. 21, the army said. Hamas
said in an e-mail yesterday that 230 people have been detained,
including six Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which
operates 245 schools in Gaza, said on its website that they
would all open yesterday and offer “increased services to
traumatized children.”

The UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child said on Nov.
22 that the Gaza conflict will have a “devastating and lasting
impact” on children on both sides. It said at least 26 children
in Gaza were killed and more than 400 injured, while 14 children
in southern Israel were wounded by Palestinian missiles.